This invention relates to apparatus for leveling the coal which is charged into a coking chamber of a coke oven and, more particularly, to such apparatus which includes a leveling rod which is introduced through the opening that is normally closed by a leveling door from a pressing machine into a gas-collecting space of the coking chamber where the leveling rod is reciprocated to level the coal charge and then withdrawn from the gas-collecting space after completion of the leveling operation.
The development of high-performance coke ovens having coking chambers which, in some instances, are greater than 6 meters high have brought about limitations to the construction of these taller coking chambers. A variant for the high-perfomance coking ovens which can be satisfactorily developed is the so-called long ovens wherein the coking chambers are longer than coking chambers in conventional coke ovens. In the long coke oven chambers, a problem arises in connection with the leveling operation for the coal which is introduced into the coking chambers. These problems are due to the deflection or sagging of the leveling rod which is introduced conventionally from the coke machine side. The leveling rod must be adapted to the length of the coking chambers. One attempt to alleviate this disadvantage was to carry out the leveling operation from both sides of a coking chamber. However, this requires a substantial increase in costs since the leveling rod and the associated drive facilities must be provided at both the machine side and the coke side of an oven chamber. This has been found to be an unsatisfactory solution to the problem, particularly in the confined spaces of a coke oven plan.